Altamont receives grant to build paths

As part of a plan to enhance the character and quality of life in Altamont, the village applied for and received a grant to develop a master walking and bicycling path.

Mayor James Gaughan said the $27,000 grant is a testament to the village's comprehensive plan, created in 2006, which aims to provide what residents have said they want for their community.

Maintaining existing linkages between neighborhoods and community amenities such as parks, gardens and village scale shopping, and expanding on such linkages, continues to be an area of emphasis in the Altamont community as it strives to build upon the historical model of village life even as its stature as a residential community of choice increases in the 21st century, said Gaughan.

The $27,000 grant is funded through Capital District Transportation Committee's 2008-09 Community and Transportation Linkage Planning Program.

Vaughn said the CDTC would seek qualified firms or individuals to develop a Village of Altamont Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan focusing on establishing and expanding linkages between neighborhoods.

The Village Comprehensive Plan recommends that Altamont initiate the use of a Capital Improvement Plan to ensure adequate funding for accommodating long-term sidewalk construction and maintenance goals.

Gaughan said residents have expressed an interest in developing a sidewalk maintenance and improvement plan that will address new sidewalks, better sidewalk connections, enhancement of pedestrian crossings, as well as create a policy on old slate sidewalks, put in place a maintenance schedule and identify funding sources.

The new paths will also address safety issues as directed by CDTC and the Metropolitan Planning Organization by carrying out federal requirements for cooperative transportation planning.

The study to develop a Village of Altamont Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan was proposed by the Village of Altamont to fulfill an effort to continue progression of the village's community development initiatives and move forward the village's 2006 Comprehensive Plan. ""